It has been announced by the FIA today that next season’s Formula 1 season will begin two weeks earlier than what had been originally scheduled, due to team complaints.

The season was supposed to begin on April 3rd, what would have been the latest start in decades, but now the changes to the dates have been confirmed the season will start two weeks prior on March 20th.

The main opposition from the race teams was due to the later start it would be more difficult to fit in a record 21 races in such a short period of time.

The opener in Australia is scheduled to be followed by Grand Prix’s in Bahrain, China and Russia all with two week intervals in between, with the Grand Prix heading to Britain on July 10th.

The season still finishes on November 27th in Abu Dhabi as had been agreed to before today’s announcement.

The current campaign is still underway, with Lewis Hamilton currently leading the standings on 277 points, whilst his closest rivals Nico Rosberg and Sebastien Vettel both sit on 229 and 218 points respectively.

Romain Grosjean will leave his current team Lotus to join the new US-based team Haas for the next Formula 1 season it has been announced.

The move will go ahead despite the expected switch up at the end of this season as Renault complete their takeover of Lotus, as sources state Grosjean has already made his decision.

The switch would leave a void spot in the Lotus (or Renault if you prefer) team, and a spot which has already had names thrown at it. McLaren reserve Kevin Magnussen has been touted, but should Jensen Button retire this season Magnussen may stay with his current team. The other rumoured name is ex-Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne.

It was Saturday that the talking began with regards to Grosjean’s contract, as Renault Sport boss Cyril Abitebou said he had no worries about replacing him.

“It’s a shame we couldn’t talk about it, but we maybe were not ready in time. It’s all about timing.

“Romain is a great driver, he deserves a great team. There’s no national bias, we wouldn’t stay in Formula 1 for a particular country or region.

“Renault is an international brand, especially in countries like China and in south-east Asia. But we’re on a project which necessarily needs a little French touch. There are young Frenchmen pushing, so I’m not worried.”

Haas have decided to buy as many parts from Ferrari for their car as they possibly can under regulations, with plans only to sort the chassis and aerodynamic systems by themselves.

The next Formula 1 meeting is this weekend as the drivers head to Japan, with Lewis Hamilton once more drafted in as the bookies heavy favourite.